TIMELY REMINDER 13th May 2020

We couldn’t wait to tell you of a terrific new book we have just sent off to the printer!

Bee Space to Bee Hive is a collaboration between two very experienced and qualified beekeepers - one from the UK (Master Beekeeper, Andrew Gibb - winner of many awards at the National Honey Show) and the late Ann Harman from the USA, one of the first certified Master Beekeepers of the US Eastern Apicultural Society.
This is the first of two books by these authors which have been written to fill a gap in the information available to those interested in the history of beekeeping – how the beehive evolved and how beekeepers used their ingenuity to solve problems associated with colony management.

Based on the subjects listed in the appendix to the syllabus for Module 8, this publication will be essential reading for beekeepers studying this qualification, and of great value for historians or anyone who has an interest in the topic.

Delivery to our store is anticipated towards the beginning of next month, so keep your eyes open here on our website for availability.

On a practical note, beekeepers around the UK are all experiencing hugely different weather and temperatures which will affect what is going on in your hive.

If it’s really hot, your bees may welcome the extra space of a super to store the nectar they are collecting, or maybe an additional brood box is necessary if the queen is very active and needs more space to lay. Or are you having to extract OSR or another spring crop?

Your bees may be preparing to swarm so some form of measure such as a walkaway split or splitting off a nuc might be your best way forward and one or more bait hives might help you out as a lure for swarms you might otherwise miss. In some areas bees have been swarming for a couple of weeks.

But for those where the weather is still cold, your bees may be way behind this and smaller colonies could be struggling and need feeding. Watching the activity at the front of your hive will give you an idea if all is well (pollen going in is great) and hefting the hive will give clearer indication of stores.

If you need guidance, you probably know by now we have some great articles on our site - and we're adding to them all the time. But if you don't already, why not subscribe to BeeCraft magazine? That way you will always have to hand the information you need, when you need it. Annual subscriptions are really superb value for money with digital via Direct Debit being an amazingly good price. Don't delay, do it today!